Nutreco – Increased data reliability through third party validation

As a global leader in animal nutrition and aquafeed, Nutreco has embedded sustainability in its corporate culture. Nutreco has been reporting on its sustainability performance since 2000. In the last two consecutive years of 2016 and 2017 it has been nominated as one of ten finalist in the RSA accredited Edie Sustainability Leaders Awards. Nutreco has pursued reasonable assurance on its sustainability report since 2014. The external assurance has enabled Nutreco to significantly improve the quality of its reporting processes and provide credibility to its stakeholders that Nutreco is delivering on its promises.

In 2017 Nutreco changed its approach in order to actively improve reporting processes and sustainability performance. Because external assurance providers are restricted in their ability to advise clients (because of regulations to avoid possible conflict of interest), a third party validation by Sustainalize can offer a cost-efficient way to have non-financial data validated, while at the same time providing concrete advise on how to improve reporting processes and sustainability performance in the future.

Sustainalize examined reporting processes and controls and validated the quality of selected sustainability KPIs that are published in the Sustainability Report 2017. As part of the work, Sustainalize performed site visits to Nutreco’s local companies in different regions in order to assess local reporting practices in line with Nutreco’s reporting criteria. Furthermore, Sustainalize assessed and tested internal controls concerning Nutreco’s sustainability performance data, the disclosure and narrative assertions in the 2017 Sustainability Report with regard to the indicators in scope, and the application of the GRI guidelines and the GRI table in the 2017 Sustainability Report. Apart from this, Sustainalize also held several workshops on reporting trends and improvement potential of Nutreco’s Sustainability Report.

By providing an expert opinion on its data as well as advise with regard to reporting processes and sustainability performance, Sustainalize has helped Nutreco to maintain and improve the quality of reported data. Sustainalize has summarized it’s work in a statement in Nutreco’s Sustainability Report 2017.

What our customers say

With the assignment for Sustainalize, Nutreco has been able to maintain the level of data verification that is required for the credibility of its Sustainability Report in a cost-efficient way while at the same time allowing for continuous improvement cycles through directly addressing material findings.